WEBVTT TOM: -- >> I HOPE TO ENJOY HOWEVER MANY DAYS I HAVE LEFT. TOM IN 2013 BRITTANY MAYNARD : MADE THE MOST DIFFICULT DECISION OF HER LIFE AFTER A DOCTOR DIAGNOSED HER WITH TERMINAL BRAIN CANCER. >> WE SAID GOODBYE TO OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY, PACKED UP HALF THE HOUSE IN A U-HAUL AND DROVE THOSE 600 MILES TO PORTLAND. TOM AT THE TIME CALIFORNIA : DIDN’T HAVE A LAW FOR END OF LIFE OPTIONS SO BRITTANY AND HER NEW HUSBAND DAN DIAZ MOVED TO OREGON. ON NOVEMBER 1, WRITTEN HE DIED. -- BRITTANY DIED. >> WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF TAKING THAT MEDICATION BRITTANY FELL ASLEEP AND WITHIN 30 MINUTES HER BREATHING SLOWED TO THE POINT WHERE SHE PASSED AWAY. TOM NEARLY TWO YEARS LATER : GOVERNOR BROWN SIGNED A LAW SIMILAR TO OREGON’S GIVING TERMINALLY ILL CALIFORNIAN’S WITH LESS THAN SIX MONTHS TO LIVE THE RIGHT TO END THEIR LIVE >> IT WAS FOR TERMINALLY ILL PATIENTS. TOM CALIFORNIA SENATE MAJORITY : LEADER BILL MONNING IS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL AUTHORS. IT WAS VOLUNTARY FOR THE PATIENT . IT WAS VOLUNTARY FOR THE POSITION. IT’S VOLUNTARY OF A HOSPITAL OR A HEALTH INSTITUTION. TOM HOWEVER THE BILL PASSED : DURING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION ON HEALTHCARE AND NOW YEARS LATER OPPONENTS SUCCESSFULLY ARGUED THE BILL DIDN’T FIT THAT CATEGORY. >> UNFORTUNATELY SOMETIMES WHEN YOU RUSH STUFF THROUGH AND YOU DON’T FOLLOW PROPER PROCEDURE IT DOESN’T RECEIVE THE ATTENTION THAT IT SHOULD AND YOU END UP WITH BAD LAW. TOM TODAY A JUDGE IN RIVERSIDE : COUNTY AGREED SAYING LAWMAKERS DIDN’T PASS THE LAW LEGALLY. WENT TO THOSE FACING THE SAME DILEMMA AS HIS WIFE. >> ARE THEY ALL OF A SUDDEN LIKE BRITTANY HAVING TO MAKE THE DETERMINATION WELL THEN WE HAVE TO GO TO ANOTHER STATE? . TOM HE VOWS TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR : THAT RIGHT IN CALIFORNIA RESUMING A BATTLE HE BELIEVED WAS ALREADY WON.

Betsy Davis threw herself a party before becoming one of the first people to use a California law allowing her to take her own life in 2016.

Her sister and other advocates fear others won't have the same choice after a Riverside County judge threw out the law Tuesday because he said it was unconstitutionally approved by the Legislature.

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Superior Court Judge Daniel Ottolia ruled lawmakers illegally passed the law during a special session devoted to other topics.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a one-sentence statement Wednesday that "we strongly disagree with this ruling" and that he will seek an expedited appeal.

The law allows adults to obtain a prescription for life-ending drugs if a doctor determines they have six months or less to live, but plaintiffs say it lacks safeguards to protect against abuse.

Davis would have been devastated by Ottolia's decision, said her sister, Kelly Davis.

"It gave her back control of her life, it let her die on her own terms," she said.

Betsy Davis was 41 when she took a fatal dose of morphine, pentobarbital and chloral hydrate prescribed by her doctor. She'd been diagnosed three years earlier with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, which slowly robbed her of her ability to use her muscles.

She celebrated the end of her life with more than two-dozen friends during a two-day party in Ojai, California, giving away her possessions and ordering her favorite foods.

"I keep thinking of all the people who are facing a terminal illness and they're considering the use of this law, and they're in limbo right now and this right might be taken away from them," her sister said.

Alexandra Snyder, an attorney and executive director of Life Legal Defense Foundation, one of the plaintiffs, said Ottolia properly ruled that lawmakers effectively "hijacked" a special legislative session that was called to address access to medical care.

"Access to health care has no relationship to assisted suicide," she said, saying passing the law set a dangerous precedent that undermines the legislative process.

Opponents have argued hastening death is morally wrong, puts terminally ill patients at risk for coerced death by loved ones and could become a way out for people who are uninsured or fearful of high medical bills.

Democratic Sen. Bill Monning of Carmel, who carried the original legislation, argued the bill was properly considered, but said lawmakers could try to pass it again if the law ultimately is rejected by the courts.

So far, he said, there has been "not a single report of malfeasance or problems."

California health officials reported that 111 terminally ill people took drugs to end their lives in the first six months after the law went into effect June 9, 2016, and made the option legal in the nation's most populous state.

Compassion & Choices, a national organization that advocated for the law, estimated that in its first year, 504 Californians requested prescriptions for medical aid in dying.

"Our supporters, they've frankly expressed shock at this outcome. They're disappointed that this end of life option could be taken away," John Kappos said, an attorney representing the organization.